Military helicopter crashes into sea with 6 onboard as coastguard heads to scene

29 November 2023 , 07:36

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Japan's coast guard vessel conducts search and rescue operation around the site where a US military Osprey aircraft crashed (Image: AP)

Six people are feared dead after a US military helicopter crashed off the coast of Japan - with coastguards rushing to the scene as it plummeted to the sea.

According to officials, the Japanese coastguard received a call at 2.47pm that a US military Osprey crashed off Yakushima Island, south of Japan's southernmost main island Kyushu. Local media said the Osprey was trying to land at Yakushima airport.

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One person has been confirmed dead at the crash site, but there's no word yet on what happened to the other five people on board. It was initially reported eight people were on board. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida said a search and rescue mission is currently underway for the crew members, he said: "We are conducting search and rescue operations for the crew. First of all, we will do our best to save lives.''

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The military Osprey aircraft was believed to have crashed in the sea off Yakushima Island (AP)

An emergency call was received from a fishing boat near the crash site off Yakushima and, according to local residents, the aircraft's left engine was on fire when it plummeted to the sea. "We received information at 2:47 pm (0547 GMT) today that the US military's Osprey crashed off Yakushima Island," a spokeswoman said.

Coast guard aircraft and patrol boats found one person, who was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, and gray-colored debris believed to be from the aircraft, Coast Guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa said. They were found about 0.6 miles off the eastern coast of Yakushima. An empty inflatable life raft was also found in the area.

Where the helicopter crashed (Anadolu via Getty Images)

"The government will confirm information about the damage and place the highest priority on saving lives," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but during flight can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster like an airplane. Versions of the aircraft are flown by the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.

The helicopter crashed into the sea

Ogawa said the aircraft had departed from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture and crashed on its way to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. Japanese Vice Defence Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa said the Osprey had attempted an emergency sea landing. Kyodo News agency, quoting Kagoshima prefectural officials, said witnesses reported seeing fire coming from the Osprey's left engine. It said a Japanese military base in Saga in southern Japan decided to postpone planned Osprey flight exercises on Thursday.

US and Japanese officials said the aircraft belonged to Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. U.S. Air Force officials at Yokota said they were still confirming information and had no immediate comment.

A rescue mission is underway to find the crew

Ospreys have had a number of accidents in the past, including in Japan, where they are deployed at both U.S. and Japanese military bases. In Okinawa, where about half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are based, Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters Wednesday that he will ask the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan.

The crash comes after five crew members were killed in a US military aircraft crash following a "mishap" exercise that ended in the Mediterranean Sea. During a routine air refueling mission as part of military training last month, a US aircraft crashed into the sea killing all crew members, according to authorities. A search and rescue mission began immediately, which included nearby US military aircraft and ships, a U.S. European Command spokesperson said.

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The left enginge was on fire as it headed towards the sea

Back in August, eight US marines were injured in a fiery crash of a tiltrotor aircraft that killed three of their colleagues on an island in Australia. All 20 survivors were flown from Melville Island 50 miles south to Darwin within hours of the Marine V-22 Osprey crashing in August during a multinational training exercise, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said.

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The US military in Japan has not commented on the incident

All were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital, and 12 had been discharged, she said. The first five Marines to arrive at the city’s main hospital were critically injured and one underwent emergency surgery. “It’s ... a credit to everyone involved that we were able to get 20 patients from an extremely remote location on an island into our tertiary hospital within a matter of hours,” Fyles told reporters. Around 150 U.S. Marines are currently based in Darwin and up to 2,500 rotate through the city every year.

Liam Buckler